Arkansas lawmakers approve lotto scholarship changesLITTLE ROCK — Arkansas lawmakers have given final approval to cutting the amount of lottery-funded scholarships freshmen would receive and basing its eligibility solely on standardized testing starting in 2016. The Senate on Monday voted 27-2 to lower the scholarship amount incoming freshmen receive from $2,000 to $1,000 and increase the amount students receive in the second year from $3,000 to $4,000. The amounts received in later years — $4,...

Tax exemption would keep vets hereArkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said last week there’s no room in his proposed budget for additional tax cuts, but efforts will continue until the final moments of this legislative session to fund a tax exemption for military veterans who have retired. Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee Chairman Jake Files said he would ask Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin to work with lawmakers to see if less than $4 million in funding was available for a proposal to exe...

Oklahoma utility faces challenges in approval of rate planOKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Oklahoma's largest electric utility has come under fire as it asks state regulators to approve a $1 billion plan for environmental compliance and replacement generation. The proposal by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. could raise residential customer bills 15 percent by 2019. The utility has more than 815,000 electric customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas. The request for reimbursement from customers is the company's largest. T...

Arkansas Senate panel rejects kindergarten enrollment billLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - A bill to force school districts to allow some Arkansas children who narrowly miss the age requirement for starting kindergarten to enroll anyway is effectively dead. Republican Rep. Jana Della Rosa of Rogers said she doesn't plan to run the bill again after it failed to come up for a vote Monday at the Senate Education Committee. Arkansas currently requires a child to be five years old before Aug. 1 to enroll. The bil...

Arkansas House endorses drug screening for benefits billLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Some Arkansans who apply for job-training benefits and other family aid would be forced to take a drug test under a bill backed by the House. Legislators voted 69-14 Monday to support the creation of a two-year pilot program. The Department of Workforce Services would be required to question applicants and to refer people deemed as suspicious for drug testing. The change would apply to about 12,000 people in the Tempor...

Arkansas Senate rejects bid to take up foreign law banLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Senate has rejected an effort to take up legislation prohibiting judges in the state from basing any rulings on foreign laws, including Islamic Sharia law. Senators on Monday rejected by a 16-11 vote a motion to bypass the Judiciary Committee and bring the proposal directly to the floor for a vote. Pulling the bill from committee is a rarely used procedural move that requires at least 18 votes. The proposa...

Religion bill cast as anti-LGBT advances to House LITTLE ROCK — Opponents of an Arkansas "religious freedom" measure that they say will allow widespread discrimination against gays and lesbians filled the state Capitol on Monday to protest the bill as it neared a final vote. The GOP-heavy House Judiciary Committee endorsed an amended version of the proposal, which would prohibit state and local government from infringing upon someone's religious beliefs without a "compelling" government inter...

Budget bill boosts money for schools, prisonsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas' public schools, prisons and Medicaid programs are set to receive boosts in funding while most other state agencies will see a 1 percent cut under a nearly $5.2 billion proposed state budget unveiled Friday afternoon. House and Senate leaders released the proposed Revenue Stabilization Act, the budget bill that's set to go before a legislative committee Monday as lawmakers near the end of this year's session. The pr...

Blytheville police search for suspect in murder plotBLYTHEVILLE (AP) — Blytheville police are searching for a man who is suspected of being involved in a murder plot. The Blytheville Courier News reported a man is wanted for conspiracy to commit murder. According to police, the man is suspected of being the intended hitman in a plot created by a Mississippi County inmate Tylon Calvin King, 28, to kill his ex-girlfriend, Tiffany Harris. Police say that calls made between King and the suspect ind...

Bill signed clearing path for Cotton presidential bidLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas has cleared the way for Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton to run for re-election and president in five years, even though the freshman senator hasn't expressed any interest in a White House bid. A spokesman said Friday Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law legislation that would allow U.S. Senate and congressional candidates to simultaneously run for president or vice president. Republican Bart Hester, who proposed the ...

House endorses Dave & Buster's restaurant billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — The Arkansas House has advanced a bill to allow the entertainment restaurant Dave & Buster's to move to the state where it began. Lawmakers voted 73-0 Friday to change the way the state regulates coin-operated games. Arkansas currently restricts the value of prizes in single-play games to $5 or less. In games where players can accumulate multiple winning tickets, the prize value is restricted to $12.50. The restaurant chain ...

Senate approves religious protection billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas inched closer Friday toward becoming the second state this year to adopt a law that critics say would sanction discrimination against gays and lesbians, with the state Senate approving a religious protection bill. The bill, approved by the Senate 24-7, prevents state and local government from taking any action that substantially burdens someone's religious beliefs unless a "compelling" interest is proven. The measur...

House panel advances Ten Commandments display billLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Efforts to erect a Ten Commandments monument on the Arkansas Capitol grounds cleared a key hurdle Friday when some House members rejected objections that such a display would be unconstitutional. The bill would allow for a privately funded monument to be placed on the grounds, with its design and location to be approved by the secretary of state. The U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 upheld a challenge to a similar Texas monument —...

Police investigating after toddler burned by bottled liquidBENTON (AP) — Benton police say they're investigating after a child was burned by an unidentified, bottled liquid while playing at a park. One of the 17-month-old child's parents told officers Wednesday night that the toddler had picked up a bottle containing a red liquid at Tyndall Park. Police say some of the substance spilled onto the child's arm. The child was taken to a hospital for treatment after the toddler's arm blistered about an hou...

Fort Smith man gets at least 17 years in meth caseFORT SMITH (AP) — A U.S. attorney's office says a Fort Smith man has been sentenced to at least 17 years in prison following a drug conviction. William Joseph Alexander, 33, also must serve five years of supervised release once he completes his prison sentence. He pleaded guilty in November to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. Court records show Alexander was arrested in July with his wife, Rosa Sharon, as they returned ...

Federal judge tosses ex-ATU softball coach's bias lawsuitLITTLE ROCK (AP) — A federal judge has tossed a lawsuit by a former college women's softball coach that accused the university of gender and sexual orientation discrimination. The judge dismissed the case Thursday without prejudice, meaning Gidget Pambianchi can't refile it. Pambianchi had coached for Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Pambianchi, who is a lesbian, says she was fired in April 2012 after she moved to fire a male assistan...

Hot Springs man dies in house fireHOT SPRINGS (AP) — A house fire has claimed the life of a Hot Springs man. Garland County Coroner Stuart Smedley told The Sentinel-Record that Junior Otwell, 68, was dead at the scene of the late Thursday night fire. Smedley said it appears Otwell was smoking while using a portable oxygen machine and that the machine exploded. Firefighters say two other people who were inside the mobile home escaped and were able to help pull Otwell from the h...

Lawsuit against ousted circuit judge is dismissedCONWAY (AP) — A lawsuit over a former Central Arkansas circuit judge's handling of a negligence case has been dismissed by Special Judge David Laser, who called his own decision to do so distasteful. The lawsuit against Michael Maggio was dismissed Friday after Laser ruled Maggio is protected by judicial immunity. Laser said his ruling is "personally distasteful," but said Maggio was performing a judicial function. Maggio was sued by the famil...

Juvenile offenders to be returned to Yell County lockupArkansas' Youth Services Division will resume placing juvenile offenders in the Yell County Juvenile Detention Center in Danville, where it had stopped sending youths after learning of improper actions by guards and staff. The agency announced the decision Friday, about three months after it had stopped sending juveniles to the center in December following the discovery that guards improperly used a mechanical restraint chair, handcuffs or loc...

Governor says there's no room for more tax cutsLITTLE ROCK (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday that there's no room in his proposed budget for additional tax cuts, despite a renewed push to find funding for a tax exemption for military veterans. Hutchinson told reporters that a $102 million middle class income tax cut he signed into law last month and an effort to restore a capital gains tax break that was scaled back to help pay for that reduction are all that his proposed b...